Thunderbirds Are Go! - The Stories Between
by homel001
Summary: A reupload of my early one shots in one collection. All featured around the Tracy family and the random events that happen in their lives. All Are non canon to the show.
1. Back to Basics Part I

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 **Back To Basics (Part One)**

 ** **Rochester, England.****

Rochester Castle had been a proud landmark for centuries. It stood proudly on the banks of The River Medway as thousand of tourists flocked to tour the Twelfth Century keep and it's surrounding gardens. Virgil and Alan stood there in the comfortable Spring temperatures, gazing up at the Castle's towers. Virgil had bought Alan with him to help him finish a paper on British castles. Alan had been given the paper by a personal tutor, but it was also a hidden interest of Virgil's. As a musician and a painter, he always believed that Historical landmarks were a type of art form. They stood there admiring the view across the river while they waited for the crowds to die down. He was enjoying the time away from the base. His little brother, however, had a different opinion.

"Virgil, this is boring!" Alan moaned as his brother dragged him around the well-kept gardens of Rochester castle. "Can't we just go for ice cream already?

Virgil looked back at him and huffed. "Look if you had just paid attention to that history paper, you wouldn't be here with me right now."

"Since when did you care about British history anyway?" Alan replied, trying to be clever.

Virgil folded his arms. "Since when I promised your private tutor that you would pass that paper. Look I know it's not your thing, Alan and it doesn't make sense with your studies for Space travel, but it's a part of the curriculum now."

"I thought my Mathematics and Communication skills were the only important ones?" Alan moaned. "I don't see Scott or Gordon doing this."

"Gordon would so bring you here... only he'd do it to impress Lady Penelope," Virgil said. "He thinks that if he does anything British, it would melt her heart."

Alan chuckled. "He'll do anything just go to dinner with her."

The crowds finally began to disperse. Virgil decided it was time to do what they came here to do. Tour the castle itself. Alan continued to moan in the most childish manner. Virgil grabbed his arm and pulled him up the concrete steps towards the ticket office. It didn't take long for them to enter the castle's courtyard. Virgil stood there, mesmerised. He always wanted to visit a castle up close when it didn't involve a rescue mission.

"Are you taking this in bro?" Virgil asked. "Isn't it amazing? Alan?"

Alan stared down at the floor. Virgil couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. He took a lot of time convincing Scott to bring Alan here, the least he could do we show a bit of interest. He shrugged it off and led him up the stairs towards the fist floor. When they arrived, they grabbed the support rails. A ground shook beneath them causing the furniture to rattle around. The Tracy brothers peered over the railing to see that the courtyard was no longer there. It had caved in on itself. All they could see was a plume of dust. Distant screams could be heard amongst the sound of falling rocks and debris. Virgil's jaw dropped. It could have been them. Unfortunately, not everyone was so lucky. Springing into action stations, they quickly hurried back down to the ground floor. They skidded to a halt and observed the now gaping hole that enveloped half of the courtyard. Alan ran outside to get help, while Virgil attempted to call out to the trapped people. His stomach tensed up as he processed the multiple frightened voices that begged for help. He didn't know what to do. They didn't bring Thunderbird Two or any of their equipment with them. For that moment, Virgil felt completely helpless.

Alan raced outside into the gardens and reached for his communicator which he left in their rented car. He switched it on and Scott's image flickered on its projector. Scott instantly reacted to the dire expression on his little brother's face.

"Scott, we have an emergency! We need Thunderbird One with medical gear immediately!" He yelled.

Scott couldn't keep up with Alan's frantic words. _"Whoa, Alan calm down. Come on deep breaths. What's happened?"_

"The courtyard at the castle has crumbled away," Alan explained as he tried to recount the incident in his mind. "Virgil's back there trying to figure out what we can do to help, but I doubt we can do anything without our rescue pod."

Scott frowned for a second. _"We'll need to find a way of sending Thunderbird Two out to you, but she'll only launch with Virgil's voice code."_

Virgil approached Alan, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. Scott's eyes bypassed Alan and fixed on his brother.

"We've got no choice. There are three people trapped down there in a crater full of rubble." Virgil informed them. "They could die if we don't get them out soon. We need to work fast."

"But what about Thunderbird Two?" Alan asked.

"She'll arrive too late, bro. We're going to have to get them out of there the old fashioned way."

Alan raised an eyebrow. "And what is the old fashioned way, exactly?"

"We need a rope and a mobile crane to attach it too. I saw one down in the town centre when we arrived. I think we can assemble it in the courtyard."

Scott acknowledged his idea. _"Good thinking. Get to work on it. Gordon and I will prep Thunderbird One for launching. We'll get there as fast as we can."_

The pair agreed and switched off the transmission. Virgil gently steered Alan towards the town centre as they hurried out of the gardens. Fortunately, the local authorities had heard the commotion and had already cordoned off the area. Alan's curiosity kicked in. How did his brother know what to do so quickly?

"So tell me, what do you call this little "idea" of yours?" He asked him.

Virgil looked at him with a confident smile. "I call it, " **The Grandpa Tracy Protocol**."

"Oh... What's this got to do with Grandpa?"

Virgil paused as he remembered a story that Grandma had once told him when they explored the old London Underground. He always admired the stories she would tell about his their grandfather and always took what he stood for into consideration.

"Once this is over, remind me to tell you sometime." He simply replied.

They approached the chief of police and immediately identified themselves. The chief had tried calling outside help but didn't want to call International Rescue in case things did turn for the worse. Virgil successfully masked his disapproval of the chief's explanation and got straight to the point.

"I'm sorry gentlemen, I know you're only trying to help but this area has become unsafe. We need you to leave immediately."

"Look, officer, we can help. We've... worked with International Rescue and I can assure you that we are certified rescuers." Virgil explained in a vain attempt to persuade the man.

"Look if I had a pound for every time someone said that they knew International Rescue, I would be living in a mansion. The fact is Mr Tracy, you have no proof. Look if it makes you both happy, I'll give them a call."

"I wouldn't worry. We've already done that." Alan interjected.

"You've what!?" The chief reacted. "You have no right involving yourself in official matters!?"

Virgil huffed. They were running out of time.

"Sir, there are people trapped down there that are waiting for a rescue. International Rescue might not be able to help in time but we can! Now, what is it going to be?"

The chief paused for a moment. "Alright, Mr Tracy. I'm listening."

After a few short moments that felt like an eternity, Virgil was able to convince the local police that they could pull off the rescue. Alan didn't know how he did it but his brother was able to acquire the mobile crane winch without revealing that they were from International Rescue. As they made their way toward the small, sturdy construction vehicle, Virgil had to know why the disaster happened. He had a nagging suspicion that he needed to address. He stopped and turned to face the chief officer.

"Sir, has this happened before?"

The chief officer gave him a puzzled look. "Not to my knowledge. Why do you ask?"

"I feel that the staff should have checked the area over before they opened the grounds to the public, but if this has never happened before then I guess I can't blame them. It isn't important anyway."

The officer rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, we have had a long spell of stormy weather. It's possible that the amount of rainfall has weakened the ground. It maybe stone but it's old stone that's become eroded over the years."

"That makes sense." Virgil nodded as he climbed into the crane. "We'll go into it that much later. Right now I need some help getting this thing into the castle grounds."

"We've cleared the way for you and we have a small transport elevator rigged up and ready. It should lift you up onto the grounds."

"Thanks." Virgil nodded as he gestured Alan to climb aboard the crane.

He pulled back the lever and steered the crane slowly up the short incline towards the castle. They eventually crawled along the garden paths towards the small elevator that awaited them. The sound of screams reverberated within the walls. Virgil reminded Alan that they were going to get them out alive and well. He was determined to show his little brother that they could use the same techniques that their grandfather used. He only hoped that the trapped survivors could hold out for that long.


	2. Back to Basics Part II

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 **Back To Basics (Part Two)**

After successfully navigating the mobile crane winch, Virgil and Gordon quickly made their preparations. There was no other way to tackle the danger. One of them had to go be lowered down there to get those people out. The question was, who was going to do it? Virgil had instantly volunteered to make the rescue, but while surveyed the courtyard crater, another idea popped into his head. He wanted Alan to experience first hand how their grandfather used to rescue lives. He knelt down to one knee and called down to the trapped tourists. His voice bounced off of the walls. The distressed cries told him that they heard his message.

"Please help us!" "We can't move!"

"Stay calm!" Virgil assured them. "We are going to get you out of there!"

However, the foundations around the crater started to buckle under the weight. Concern grew at the state of the courtyard. Another section could easily collapse again. He looked over at Alan and the pair exchanged expressions.

"One of us is going to have to go down there. We don't have a lot of time."

"Well, I can't do it." Alan reacted. "I don't have a safety harness with me."

"No, but we can make one." Virgil countered. "Plus you are at the right height and weight for the winch to handle."

Alan paused. "But Virgil... I haven't done this before. Not without my utility suit."

Virgil sympathised with him. "I know little bro. You have to understand, this is how Grandpa Tracy would have had to handle things. He would have had to take the same risk himself once upon a time."

"I thought you were going to go down there?"

"I was, but I'm a bit too heavy for the winch to support me. You can are lighter than me. You get down there, remove some of the debris and get those people out of there. What do you say?"

"Okay. I'll do it." Alan replied. "There are lives at stake and we are the only ones with the know how to get them out."

Virgil smiled with pride. "FAB. I'll set the winch cable up."

Alan grabbed a hard hat from the supply compartment and flicked on the torch part. Wrapping the winch rope around him, he prepared to descend into the pit. Virgil placed on a pair of elbow and knee guards on him and strapped a small talkback radio on his chest.

"You've got this." He said as he placed a reassuring hand on Alan's shoulder.

Virgil switched on the winch controls. The machine roared to life as a small plume of smoke erupted from its old generator. Virgil slowly steered the crane into position. He gave Alan the all clear. Sitting on the edge of the pit, Alan pushed him upwards and began to descend into the flurry of dust and darkness that awaited him. Armed with a small laser cutter that was also supplied, Alan kept his wits about him. He was rapidly losing light. The dust became intense. However, as he arrived at the first ledge which had been made from rubble, he made out slight movement amongst the dust. Aiming his flashlight in the same direction, he spotted what appeared to be a young woman. She had blonde hair and looked to be about his age. She looked up at him and squinted at his torch light.

"Help! Are you here to get us out!?" She cried.

"It's okay, miss. I'm going to get you out of here." Alan replied with a smile. "Are you hurt?"

"We're okay, but my dad can't shift this rubble and we can't get to my mum." The girl explained. "We just want to go home."

Her fear resonated with Alan. It hit him like a tidal wave. However, he needed to be strong and he needed to keep her focused.

"Hey, hey look at me." He instructed calmly.

The girl looked up at him. Dirt stained tears ran down her cheeks.

"It's going to be okay." He continued. "What's your name?"

"Alicia." She sniffled.

"That's a pretty name. I'm Alan. Can you reach your father, Alicia?"

"I think so yes. He's right below me."

"Okay. I need you both to help me out here. I need to cut away some of this debris so I lower the harness down to you. Can you dig away at some of the rock your end?"

"I don't know. We can try." Alicia replied as called down to her father. "Can you move, Dad?"

A deeper, more stifled voice replied to her question. "I... I can just about move my... arm."

"Okay. What I needed you to do is dig some of the loose soil so this beam right here has nothing underneath it. I can then cut through it and slide it off of you."

Alicia and her father understood what to do. "Okay, we'll get digging. Please hurry. My Mum could be seriously hurt."

"We'll get out you in a jiffy. My brother is up there waiting to help."

Alicia began to dig away as Alan switched on his laser cutter. With attention and accuracy, he began to work against the clock. Back up in the winch, Virgil's concerns began to grow. He could feel the floor shake again ever so slightly. He hoped that Alan was okay down there. Plus where the hell was Scott?

Thunderbird One cruised over the ocean at stop speed. The British coastline appeared over the shrouded horizon. Scott had been checking in with John up in the satellite. Gordon was aboard with him overseeing their medical cargo. John's image appeared and floated before Scott.

"Have any more information for me Thunderbird Five?" he asked.

 _"Well I've been in touch with the police and apparently a man and his brother by the name of "Mr Tracy" has decided to take action and perform a rescue. I don't know how Virgil and Alan are doing it but apparently, they've made contact with the trapped people."_

"The main thing is that they're doing something. We'll be there in Fifteen minutes. Keep us updated."

" _FAB."_

To cut the tension a little, Gordon decided to try his hand at some British-based humour.

"So Virgil's calling himself Mr Tracy huh?" He said, trying to get Scott's attention. "I bet next he'll be sampling tea's and smoking pipes with Alan as his little chimney sweep."

Scott was only playing half attention. "What are you talking about?"

"Mr Tracy. I can imagine it now." Gordon continued as made the worst impression of an Englishman possible. "Jolly good show Governor. We can do a spot of rescuing for only a shilling, What, What. What do you say Scott old bean?"

Scott gave him a deadpan expression. "Stop right there! Just... just don't ever do that again."

Gordon shrugged. "Well I thought I was fu...okay I'll be quiet.

Scott smiled. "That's a good squid."

The faint tremors continued, shifting debris inside the pit. It bounced off the walls around Alan as he continued to laser his way through to Alicia and her family. The concrete beam that was trapping them began to shift with ease. He switched off the laser tool and flung it over his back. He used his strength to try to push the beam off them but it was too heavy. He could hear Virgil's voice calling out to him over his walkie talkie.

" _Hurry it up, Alan! The pit is about to cave in!"_

Alan began to panic as he called down to Alicia.

"Quickly Alicia. I need you to push upwards! Help me get this beam off of you!"

"Okay, I'll try." Alicia complied as he pressed her arms up against the wooden beam.

"Alright! On the count to three! One... Two... Three! Push!"

Using their combined strength, the pair gradually slid the beam to one side. Just enough for Alan to get to her. He untied the harness around his waist and lowered it down to Alicia. She grabbed the rope for dear life as Alan called up to Virgil.

"Okay Virgil, winch away. We're going to have to do this one at a time."

" _FAB... I eh mean...roger that, bro."_

As soon as he secured the harness around Alicia, Virgil got her clear of the danger zone. Her father quickly emerged from the dust. The pit had become big enough for him to squeeze himself through. He was a tall slender man with grey hair and a matching beard. His shirt was torn and his arm was covered in scratches. Alan helped him to his feet.

"Are you hurt sir?" he asked.

The father rubbed his eyes. "I'm fine. Is my daughter clear?"

"She's safe now. The winch will be back down here to take you next." Alan informed him.

The man became distressed as his thoughts returned to him. "My wife... Oh my god! My wife... She's trapped down there!"

"Hey take it, easy sir. It's okay I'll get her out safe and sound."

"Please hurry. I don't know how badly hurt she is. She was the first to fall in."

"We have medical aid on the way. I'll find her. We just need to get you to the surface."

The winch eventually returned and Alan secured it around the man. As he instructed Virgil to lift him to the surface, he was caught off guard by another tremor. He quickly picked himself up off the dirt and debris when he heard the faint sound of coughing coming from below. He switched on his torch and peered on inside. Virgil called out to him once again in a frantic state.

" _Alan! You're running out of time down there! Are you finished?"_

"Not quite. I've located the third person. I need to dig her out with the laser beam. Send the winch down."

 _"It's on its way bro, but you're cutting it fine."_

Alan began to feel the pressure as he searched around for Alicia's mother. A hand appeared in the beam of his torch. He reached out and pulled away as much loose rock as he could. The mother lay there unconscious. She had a bruise on her forehead and a cold sweat had broken out on her face. He had to get her out of there. Another Tremor rocked the pit. It was a scary reminder to him that he only a minutes left. If he couldn't get her out in time, he would be buried alongside with her.


	3. Back to Basics Part III

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 **Back To Basics (Part Three)**

 **Exhaustion began to hit Alan hard. He was racing an unpredictable clock as he sheered away at the debris with his laser drill. He needed to get Alicia's mother out of there, but his confidence hard started to fade. He didn't know what to do? A ray of light shined down on him as the mother began to awake from her unconscious state. He saw the faint light reflection in her eye.**

"Hey, it's okay. Lie still for a moment." He called out to her.

"Who...who are you?" The injured woman replied. "What happened?"

"Hey take it easy. I'm going to get you out of here." Alan assured her despite his belief that his words felt hollow.

As he finished cutting his way through, he dragged the debris off of her body. The woman had bruises all up her arms. Her torso wriggles and shook but her legs remained stationary.

"Can you move?" Alan asked extending his hand out to her so she can grab it.

The mother strained but the pain in her right leg was too intense. "My leg! It hurts!"

Alan reacted instantly. He grabbed her hand and gently pulled her out of the rubble.

"Okay hang on, I got you." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Where is that winch when I need it!?

Fear began to set in. The winch should have returned by now, but it was nowhere to be seen. Keeping his nerve, Alan reached for his walkie-talkie and called out to Virgil. There was nothing but static. The pit in his stomach began to drop. He was now in as much danger as the woman was. His fear heightened when debris began to rain down on them once again. He threw himself on top of the woman in an attempt to shield her from the debris. He then felt the back of his shirt begin to shake. A high pitched mechanical sound swept the pit, stirring up the dirt and dust that was around him. He looked up and saw a sight that he thought he couldn't be more grateful to see. Thunderbird One has finally arrived. She hovered over the pit, blocking out the sunlight with her shiny unique shape. Scott called out to him over the loud speaker.

" _This is International Rescue. Hold tight. We'll get you out of there."_

with that, Scott sent Gordon into the hold with the supplies. He opened up the hatch and sent his brother down with the mechanical winch platform. Gordon descended into pit equipped with a medical kit. His helmet she lights on the put. He quickly located Alan and the injured mother but had to play a ruse with him.

"Scott, I found the Tracy boy and the injured civilian. They are both okay." He reported. "I'm going to give him a hand."

"Am I glad to see you!" Alan sighed. "Help me get her onto the winch. Her leg is broken."

Gordon stepped off of the winch platform and stepped over the woman. He gently sat the woman on the platform. She winced in agony as she gripped onto the platform for dear pit continued to crumble. Bricks and mortar bounced off of the platform. Alan struggled to reach the platform. The debris piled up around him. Gordon lunged forward, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him onto the platform.

"Scott! Take us up, quick!"

Scott pulled back hard on the controls as the winch mechanism sprang to life. Virgil sat there anxiously at his post. His eyes had been transfixed on the pit. The cable swayed slightly. The next few minutes remained tensed. The cable continued to sway about until finally, The winch platform finally re-appeared.

"Thunderbird One, we are clear of the pit."

"Yeah" Alan spluttered as he coughed up the dust. "And not a moment too soon. Look at the pit!"

Virgil hi-tailed it out of the grounds as the floor caved in on itself once again. He dived through the archway and down the stairs. He looked on in disbelief as the pit expanded, swallowing the mobile winch crane in one sitting. It was no more. He sat there for a moment at collected his thoughts. He could have been pulled under.

"What...what just happened?" He said out loud as he dropped his words all over the place.

Scott set down Thunderbird One in the gardens. The paramedics turned up on the scene. They quickly attended to the family after they gave Alan a check over. As he sat in the back of the van, an overwhelming sensation of joy set in as he watched Alicia being reunited with her mother. His whole time in the pit really changed his perspective on life and how rescue operations used to go. This was what it was all about. Sure he had been out on various rescues, but this was the first time that he truly felt that being a rescuer was worth it. He was given the all the clear by the paramedic so he decided to slowly slip away towards his brothers. However, Alicia caught him out of the corner of her eye and ran over to him.

"Alan, hey." She said nervously with a smile. "I..um... Thanks for saving my Mum, my Dad and...and me."

Alan returned the smile. "I was happy to do it. I couldn't have done it without you, though. You're braver than you think."

Alicia looked down at the floor. She still found the time to blush despite the traumatic shock she had suffered.

Virgil stood there and folded his arms. "Hey Scott, would you look at that?"

Scott turned around to see Alicia wrap her arms around Alan and pull him in for a hug. The pair of them couldn't help but smile with pride. They were both very proud of him. For Virgil though, the experience had shown Alan how their grandfather used to make a difference when he would rescue lives. He only hoped that the message had sunk into his head.

"Our little bro is growing up. If only Dad was here to see this. He would be really proud of him." Scott replied with a sigh. "He deserves all the glory. I'm just sorry that your trip was cut short."

"Well, they were lucky that we were here when it happened. It could have turned out a lot differently."

Gordon emerged from the Thunderbird's hold. "Right, we're all set to go. Everybody ready?"

"Should I go and call Alan?" Scott asked.

"You know what, let him have this. Just for another five minutes." Virgil replied. "You guys take off. I'll bring us home."

"FAB." Scott agreed. "Alright, Gordon. We'll blast off in Two minutes.

Alicia pulled away from Alan and returned to her family. He stood there waved off the ambulance. Virgil stood beside him, slinging his arm around his shoulder.

"So Alan, how do you feel after all of that?"

Alan rubbed the back of his head. "It was scary, stressful but down right amazing! I don't know how Grandpa could do it."

"He did it, though. I'm proud of you kiddo, you really showed that family what the Tracy motto stood for. Dad would be proud of you."

"Thanks, bro." Alan yawned as he patted his Brother's back. "Boy am I tired and hungry. Could we go and get a burger somewhere?"

"Sure, but let's hold off on the British food, shall we? I heard that the fast food around here isn't that great."

Alan paused. "You mean... they don't do tacos?"

Virgil gave him a blunt expression. "Not the way you like them."

As they headed back to their jet, Alan had to get a question off his chest.

"Say, Virgil, could we not do this again? I miss being in the comfort of my Thunderbird."

Virgil nodded. "Sure. I think that puts the lid on your history paper for the time being."

"Thank you." Alan sighed. "You're the best bro ever."

But Virgil hadn't finished. "Next week, we'll work on your Geography paper. How does a trip to the Grand Canyon sound?"

Alan moaned relentlessly. "When will it end? International Rescue, please come and save me!?"

 ** **END.****


	4. Come Home Bro

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 ** **Come Home Bro****

 **The air was freezing. That's all John could think about as he took on the treacherous terrain of the arctic circle. He never thought he would spend his life on a road to rediscovery but he had to do this. He had to prove himself that he was more. He has spent many months off the radar as he travelled across Europe. He didn't want to be recognised. He didn't want to be spotted or tracked. Most of all, he didn't want his family to find him. So why was he doing this? What happened? What was he running from?**

It was a rescue that ended in tragedy. He could remember it as clear as anything. It started as a typical day when he had been alerted to a distress call. A shuttle had become trapped on the surface of an asteroid. The crew had planted charges but couldn't lift off in time before they could detonate. John, as he often did, took charge of the situation. Thunderbird 3 was go, but time was ticking. The lone Tracy brother had no choice but to attempt the rescue himself. He grabbed his helmet, his new prototype flight pack and set off for the asteroid. It was close enough for short distance space walk. He thought he could make it but he was too late. The asteroid exploded. A shock-wave accompanied the bright lights, sending John hurtling back towards Thunderbird 5. He was too late to save them. The fact was that IR was too late anyway, but he took the responsibility all by himself. As soon as he returned to the island, his mind had been white washed with guilt. He packed his bags in the middle of the night and left the island, leaving behind his communicator and tracking beacons. The family never saw him since.

Now, he was climbing the Ice glaciers and skiing down snow dunes as he searched for a new place to call home. His face was dry and raw, he had lost weight from malnutrition and fatigue. He was quickly losing light which meant that he had to get a move on. Aimlessly, he dragged his weary legs through the snow. Just as he thought he was getting nowhere, his faded eyesight caught the glimpse of a light over the horizon. He had in fact arrived at a small village. An ice fishing village to be exact. One of the locals approached him and helped him inside. He lay there motionless, cold and hungry as the local fisherman tried to keep him warm. John tried to speak, but he was too tired to talk. He didn't have the energy in him.

" ..ankk!"

"You must rest. You are malnourished and in need of food." The man said as he covered John's pale body with fur blankets. "The fire will keep you warm. I'll take care of you."

John slept through the next few days. He barely touched any food but knew when he had to keep hydrated. His body ached all over. A bright ray of light shone in his eyes, causing him to wake from his hibernated state. He needed to know where he was and what had happened. As he approached the door and peered outside of the hut, his eyes homed in on a familiar object. He couldn't believe it. Thunderbird 1 was just sitting there. How did they find him? As he regained his senses, he stepped outside to see if he could see anyone. The town's inhabitants continued as if they didn't notice the big shiny International Rescue craft. However, his ears did pick up on a familiar voice. A voice he thought he'd never hear again. He peered round the corner to see Scott standing there with the man who took him in.

"I'm looking for someone. I believe he might have come this way." Scott said as he showed the local man a picture of his brother. "He's my brother and I'm deeply concerned for his well-being. Have you seen him at all?

"I rescue man like him the last night. He's resting in a hut down the way." The local replied. "He was in a bad way."

"Can I see him?" Scott asked eagerly.

John had no choice in the matter. He couldn't avoid his brother in a small settlement. Perhaps he had been running for far too long. It was time that he faced his brother. He slowly stepped out from behind the hut and called out to him.

"You looking for me?"

Scott's mouth dropped. He gasped at the feral state of his brother. He could have cried, he could have hit him out of fear and rage but he knew that it wouldn't solve anything. He just wanted to bring him home.

"Oh my god. John- John oh my...you're here!"

However, John didn't share his sense of relief. "How did you find me?"

"Bro, can we talk please?" Scott replied as he gathered himself. "Come on, I just want to talk to you."

John stood there and scowled at him. The icy wind swept through his hair and his beard as he maintained a defensive posture.

Scott called out to him again. "Please?"

John nodded as he prompted Scott to follow him into his hut. Scott accompanied him and took a seat next to the fire. John sat opposite him as he tried to avoid making eye contact with him.

"John I can't tell you how worried sick we've all been." Scott began. "You've had this family on tender hooks ever since you left us behind. I know that you still blame yourself for what happened, but it's not-"

"How did you find me!?" John growled. "You shouldn't have been able to find me."

"Well, we almost gave up the search until Alan discovered a clue. You always did say that you wanted to come here."

"Shame your trip was for nothing because I'm not coming home."

Scott couldn't accept that. "John, just what are you going to accomplish by running away? What happened was a mistake. Mistakes happen. How could you have known that the asteroid was going to explode sooner?"

"Because I didn't respond quickly enough. Don't you get it? That day made me realise how worthless I really was to the team. I left because I wasn't running away. No, I left because I needed to see what I was made of. I don't deserve that life back home. I deserve this."

"What, a meaningless trek across the Arctic?"

"Well, it's better than being a useless fool at home. I wasn't born to lead or—or make decisions that were useful to the team. That day marked the truth. I didn't deserve the reassurance that day. No, I must discover who I really am instead of a loser back home.

"Mum and Dad never thought that of you. He never thought any less of you because of your decisions. If They could see you now they would be heart broken. Just think about it. What are you going to do after this?"

"I don't know. I don't know what my future is going to bring, but I can't see it being with International Rescue. So you might as well just go home."

Scott frowned. He didn't want to put up a fight, but he had no intention of leaving his brother behind.

"Our family has spent months looking for you!" He shouted. "I've come all this way to find you and I don't intend to let you go again!"

"Is that so?" John replied with a menacing scowl. "You're going to have to make me! I'm not a good ol' space monitor anymore!"

"I don't want to fight you, John!" Scott replied as a tear ran down his cheek. "Please don't make me drag you to Thunderbird 1."

Suddenly, Scott realised something. He couldn't force John to return with him, but he did have one last thing to say.

"Fine, if you want to stay here then...fine. Just what do I tell the others? Grandma wanted to throw you a dinner, Alan misses you like crazy, Kayo's been crying every night because she wants you home. Virgil and Gordon are just hurting pure and simple. What do I tell them huh? "Oh hey guys, sorry but your brother wouldn't come home." At least give me the words to say."

"Go home, Scott."

Scott was hurting. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He stormed out of the hut and headed back for his Thunderbird. John looked back as he watched his brother walk away. Perhaps this is was what he needed after all. He needed the confirmation that he was still needed and valued. He just needed his brother to say it to him. All of this came to him like a sudden revelation.

"Scott!"

Scott stopped in his tracks and looked back towards him.

"I want the time to recover back home. I'll make my own decision when to go back into space."

Scott smiled. "You got it."

"And I don't want the GDF, Penelope , Parker or anyone to know that we had this conversation."

"Of course."

A small smile broke out across his cheek as Scott approached him. The eldest Tracy brother extended his arm outwards towards him. John grabbed it, pulling his brother in for a hug. The pair exchanged a look of reassurance.

"Are You really coming home?" Scott asked him as he held his frail brother for the next few moments.

"Yes," John smiled. "I'm coming home."


	5. Crash Landing: Virgil's Dilemma

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 ** **Crash Landing: Virgil's Dilemma****

 **"Virgil! Keep her steady! You're losing altitude every second!" Scott growled into the intercom.**

He watched on in fear as Thunderbird Two gradually fell from the sky. He didn't know what was going on. It all happened so fast that didn't even think to react. Now time was running was running out for his brother. If the Thunderbird's motors didn't kick in, then he would hit the ocean with a mighty splash.

" _Main engines are dead!"_ Virgil replied over the radio. The calmness of his voice began to change. "I'm hitting the emergency circuits!"

"FAB Thunderbird Two. I've radioed base and informed them of the situation. Once you've gained emergency power, keep her nose steady. Ditch excess cargo if you have to. Just keep her in the air."

Virgil heard his brother's instructions clearly. Even if Scott knew what he was talking about, the idea was stupid. He could dump the pod in the middle of the ocean. It would make his craft lighter, but that would also mean dumping valuable secrets in the middle of the Pacific where anybody could sail in and get their hands on them.

"I'll keep her steady, but I'm not dumping anything." He replied as he gripped the wheel.

Scott didn't have time to argue.

" _Virgil, you're carrying too much weight! Jettison the pod now and you will make it back to the island!"_

"Look, I've been trained to handle this situation time and time again. I can handle it. Just think what will happen if our secrets were discovered? Dad would be pissed. He would be more than pissed. Think about that for a second?"

Scott paused for a second. _"FAB. I'm directly over you now."_

Virgil peered up to see Thunderbird One flying directly above him. He wasn't sure what his brother could do, but he knew that arguing wasn't going to solve his predicament. The emergency thrusters immediately kicked in. The jets fired a blanket of smoke which poured out of Thunderbird Two's motors. It was enough to keep her level but it had never been tested before. Pulling back on the nose, Virgil kept his craft upright. Her under cart barely missing the water. He wiped the cold sweat off of his forehead. He was sure he had it under control, that was until his sinuses caught the smell of electrical smoke. There was a fire somewhere aboard the ship.

"Just great!" He huffed as he tapped in the auto-pilot computer. "Thunderbird One from Thunderbird Two, I think I have found the cause of most of my system damage."

He grabbed a fire extinguisher off of its wall mount and made his way towards the pod section. The air began to thicken rapidly. Using the manual locks, he opened the door to find a room drenched in smoke. He could hear the flames roar but visibility was terrible. Where was the fire coming from? The air eventually became too thick for him to handle, forcing him to grab a respirator mask. He eventually spotted the fire. His eyes widened at the sight of flames erupting from a circuit junction box. The heat was intense let alone the thick smoke which now dominated the compartment. He aimed the nozzle and blindly fired in the direction of the flames. He knew from the beginning that this was an extremely dangerous predicament. Here he was extinguishing a violent fire without the protection of a fire hazard suit. Anything could happen. He was quickly running out of time.

Scott's voice cracked over the radio behind him.

" _Come in Thunderbird Two! Virgil, are you there!? What's going on down there! Come in.. now!"_

"Work now, Chat later." Virgil thought as he struggled to get the fire under control. His extinguisher was now running low as he coated the entire compartment in Carbon Dioxide spray. Fortunately, luck was on his side. The flames began to dissipate. Virgil ran back into the cockpit to open the vents. A breeze of cool air flooded the compartment and the cabin. He was lucky that it still worked otherwise he would have eventually suffocated. After all, his respirator had started to run low.

Was it over? Could he get his Thunderbird back to base without further problems? Virgil played those questions over in his head, as he sat there in a silent cockpit. Scott still maintained his position above him. He wasn't about to let his brother out of his sight. Virgil had the same idea. Suddenly, the cockpit rocked with the sound of an explosion. The force of the blast knocked Virgil from his seat. Scott even shielded his ears over the radio. Virgil rolled across the cabin but quickly lifted himself to his feet. He was now bleeding from his nose. His head felt swollen.

" _Virgil! What was the bang I just heard!?"_ Scott cried. _"Are you alright!?"_

Virgil returned to the wheel with a sigh. He held one hand on the wheel, while he examined the large bump on his head with the other.

"It's just what I thought would happen. The auto-pilot computer has just exploded." He replied. "There was a fire in the main navigation compartment. I took care of it, but I guess the damage was worse than I thought."

" _Okay, Virgil. Here's what we do. We're now just 5 minutes away from base. Keep your emergency power down to a minimum and keep her nose steady. You should be a safe altitude and speed to be able to glide her down."_

"But I'm too heavy, I already said, I can't jettison anything."

 _"Well, you've just got to try. It's your only chance. You'll over-run your emergency thrusters and crash otherwise!"_

"Scott!... promise me you'll stay until we land?"

Scott noted his brother's fear. He felt absolutely helpless at that point. All he could do was be there for him.

" _I promise, I'll be here with you every step of the way."_ He said softly. _"You've got this bro."_

That was all Virgil needed to hear. The island eventually appeared over the horizon. Just staring at it raised the bar in his confidence. In order to perfect the landing, he had to calculate everything properly. He kept the radio frequency open to Scott, waiting for him to give the signal. The engines kept the craft balanced until Scott gave the word.

 _"Cut engines now!"_

Virgil flicked the switch. He was supposed to hear nothing. So why were the engines still roaring?

"She's not responding, Scott!" He replied. "Damn it, I don't have time for this!"

Tracy Island's features came into view. Virgil didn't have time to react to it. He leant down underneath the nose wheel and ripped off the metal housing. He fumbled around for the series of circuits that kept the computer connected with the emergency controls. Without hesitation, he ripped them out one at a time. Sparks flew across the floor as he completed his task. Silence flooded the room. The engines finally went dead. Virgil trained his focus on the runway that was now sitting below him. He glided his Thunderbird over the island a few times until he was at the right altitude for a decent. Oh, how he wished he could call his father and tell him that he was going to make it. His radio link with base was the first thing to be damaged when the incident started. He put those thoughts to one side for the time being because now, it was now or never. He lined his nose up with the runway and took her down.

Up above, Scott bought Thunderbird One into a hover position. His stomach tensed as he watched Thunderbird Two collide with the runway. His eyes widened as he watched his brother's training kick in.

"It's working!" He said. "He's doing it!"

Virgil's body shook violently. He had another battle on his hands as he fought to keep the nose upright. He activated the breaking flaps almost immediately. He could hear them snap away in the background. The hangar door grew closer and closer. Virgil tried to tune out the ear scratching screeching sounds. Sparks flew about the place, the smoke made its return and the cabin alarm bells cried away. Virgil had to keep going.

"I'm not going to crash... I'm not going to crash... I'm not going to crash!"

Then as soon as he hit the ground. It was over. Thunderbird Two slowly came to a stop. The whole landing only lasted a few minutes, but to Virgil, it was like time had come to a standstill. He sat back in his seat, panting heavily. He was hot, exhausted and sore. He all he could amongst the spitting sound of sparks were the sound of multiple fire extinguishers that were now cooling down his Thunderbird. He had no idea that the fire had set his motors on fire, but in that moment, he didn't care. He eventually gained his wits and dragged his way towards the safety hatch.

The warm breeze swept across his face. That was when he began to feel dizzy. His legs felt like jelly. His head throbbed to the pulse of his heartbeat. He needed to sit down. So he did. He sat there in a dazed state at the side of the runway. He was completely unaware that Jeff and Scott were rushing over to him with a medical kit.

Jeff knelt down in front of him and studied his complexion.

"Virgil, Virgil can you hear me?" He asked him calmly.

"Is he alright, Dad?" A worried Scott asked him.

"It's shocking no doubt but he's physically okay," Jeff replied. "Come on, help me get him to the infirmary. Alan and Brains can finish up here."

Virgil had lost all sense of direction. He was so tired that he had slept for three days straight. His head still throbbed, but the pain was no longer intense. As his senses kicked in, he displayed a smile followed by a sigh of relief. He was in his bed surrounded by his own comforts. There were get well cards on his bedside table which were left by the family. He read them all before settling back down to sleep. Just as he made himself comfortable again, the door opened and Jeff entered carrying a tray of food.

"Well, look who decided to stop faking so he could get out of doing chores." He joked as he placed the tray on the table. "How are you feeling, son?"

"Hungry," Virgil replied with a smile. "Is that egg?"

Jeff sat sown on the end of the bed. "It's poached egg and it's much healthier for you. I always said that you needed to cut down on the fried food, so I thought it couldn't hurt to make a start."

Virgil replaced his smile with a frown."Well, look at you? I was in a three-day coma and all you could think about was my diet. So... what happened with Thunderbird Two exactly?"

"Hey, now I want you not to worry about that," Jeff said as he quickly closed the question. "Brains is taking care of her as we speak. He's had Tin-Tin shadow him. She learning quite about the electrical systems. Your job is to eat up and get your energy back."

"Okay. I suppose it would be nice to get out of this bed."

"That's what I want to hear. We'll be in the lounge watching TV. If you need any help, just call."

Virgil looked down at his food. However one thought still remained. He put his plate down, stopping his dad in his tracks.

"Dad, I must know. What went wrong? I feel like I'm responsible for all of this."

Jeff turned around to face him. "Where on earth did you get that idea? Virgil, none of this was your fault. I would rather have you rest and not think about it, but if you really want to know then... alright. According to Brains' investigation, there was an electrical failure in the main engines. When they shut off, a jolt of electricity shorted out the rest of the systems which caused a fire. Scott told me that you tackled it, but the fire caused a chain reaction which then shorted out the auto-pilot computer. Fortunately, this was a test flight because if were fully operational, then it could have ruined us."

"Wow, ouch Dad," Virgil replied defensively. "Doesn't matter that I could have been killed."

Jeff sighed. "I haven't finished. My point is, you stuck to your training and followed everything to a T. You kept your head. In the end, Scott was the one panicking out of the pair of you. You have no idea how the situation could have gone if it were the other way around. I am very proud of you. Now I don't know about you, but I know I made the right decision giving Thunderbird Two to you. "

"I don't know. Apart of me really feels like this job isn't right for me. I should have just stayed on the communications course. I could have qualified to be our space monitor by now. "

"Virgil, this has never been a case of choice. I've assigned you to your roles because I know you can do them. You have the ability to carry out the vital part of any future rescue operation. You are dependable, calm and certainly wiser than your brothers. When you were little, Alan and Gordon always came to you when they struggled in school. Scott would have breakdowns when he was at college and it was you who would fly out there to help him with his studies. They won't admit it, but they all depend on you. They always have done and they always will do. That's why Scott panicked and you didn't. You may not feel great about yourself just now, but think about it."

Virgil looked down at his food.

"I'll let you think about that for a while. Now eat up. Your eggs are getting cold."

As Jeff left the room, Virgil sat there and ate. He slowly processed his father's words. Perhaps he was meant to be the one the team could rely on. Perhaps it wasn't his fault after all. More to the point, he couldn't get over how good his father's cooking actually was. He pulled himself out of bed and placed on his dressing robes. He felt strong enough to make it into the lounge. Sure enough, his brothers were all there. Tin-Tin was there too. She prompted him to come sit with the family. He smiled and made his way over to her and together, they sat back and enjoyed the rest of the day.


	6. Encounter

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 ** **Encounter****

 **Virgil's personal entry number 100 - - Begin recording.**

I never really believed in many things while I was growing up. Sure we'd hear the conspiracies on the news all the time, but we were all too preoccupied to even learn about them. For me, the day was as routine as you could expect. I woke up, had breakfast, showered and well you know how a standard day starts off. Whoa, I just get the shakes even thinking about it. I can't believe how hard it is to tell this story. I've tried keeping it quiet. I've tried being rational about it by debunking what it could have been. I've even got Brains to analyse Thunderbird 2's flight recorder. He couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, well so he claimed. I'm sorry Brains, but you weren't there. You didn't witness what we did. That's right I didn't have this experience alone. Alan was with me at the time it happened. Okay, I'm beating around the bush here so here's the bottom line. Alan and I came into contact with something unexplained. I'm not saying it's aliens, It certainly wasn't the Hood. I just know that whatever it was, it changed our way of thinking. Now you all know, I suppose I better tell you exactly what happened.

International Rescue has received a call to assist a mine that was on the verge of collapse. So Alan and I flew out to there to help. I remember it being a pretty simple rescue operation. All I had to do was keep the mine roof from caving in while Alan lifted the miners out one at a time. We got the job done within the hour. Now just like I said before, this day started like any other. We were making good time as we headed back to base. Visibility was good, the skies were clear. I could have sworn that we were only ones in the sky that time. Alan was chatting away to me about his latest video game tournament. I had zoned out because I wasn't interested. You see, when I fly, I don't tend to think about the people around me. My senses tune into the sound of the engines and the sky ahead of me. John called through. His slightly distorted voice broke me out of my trance. Alan took the call for me.

"Hey, bro, what's shaking?" He asked him. "We're heading back to base."

I could see John's image in the corner of my eye.

" _Thunderbird Two, I'm detecting a giant unidentified craft in your area. It literally appeared above your current position for a second. Do you guys see anything?"_

Alan looked around and I did too. I was puzzled at nature of my brother's call. What was he talking about?

"Negative, Thunderbird Five. It's all quiet out here." I replied. "Are you sure you saw something?"

" _Virgil, my scanners never lie. I even got EOS to do a complete diagnostic check on them. They definitely read something tailing you. Report back should you get a visual."_

"FAB." I sighed as I looked over at Alan who appeared to be very excited about this.

"Come on. Where is it?" He moaned. "Where are the aliens?"

"Do you realise how crazy you sound right now?" I asked him mockingly. "There's no such thing as little green men."

"Don't be so sure, Virg," he countered. "I've heard some pretty compelling stories in my time. Some accounts have even been told by ex-policemen and GDF officials."

"Wait, what do you mean you've heard stories in your time? Are you only Fourteen? You really need to cut down on the Sci-Fi stuff bro."

"Alright then wise guy, what do you think it could be?" He said as he displayed a smug look on his face.

"I think it's a faulty scanner that is clearly John's problem," I replied bluntly.

Oh boy, how wrong was I? I tell you, as soon as I said that, things began to change. I could see this bright light that kept shining in the corner of my eye. I didn't think much about it at first until Alan noticed it too.

"What is that light?" he asked with a sense of intrigued. "The sun is shining on our port wing."

"Could it be a star?"

"Can stars move?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

It was then that I suddenly paid attention to this thing. A bright, perfectly spherical ball of light travelled out in front of us. I couldn't make out its size, shape or distance, but I had to make a guess quickly. My instincts told me it was a commercial plane, but this thing was travelling faster than Thunderbird Two. I knew that no airliner could out fly us. As I sat there going through a mental list of what it could be, Alan pointed out to it.

"Watch out!" He yelled.

I pulled back on controls as the ball of light shot right past my starboard wing. A distinct whooshing sound could be heard from within the cockpit. Alan jumped out of his seat as his eyes scanned the skies around us.

"Did you see where it went!?" He shouted in excitement. "What was that!?"

"I don't know! Just calm down!" I replied as I tried to think. "If it was attacking us, it might try to come around again."

"I can't see it." Alan continued. "I think it's gone."

You know, for a moment I actually thought he was right. I tried to reset my focus on the flying when something else began to happen. My ears began to pick up on a low-frequency humming sound. It was so low that it felt like it was sitting on the ear drum. The sound became very uncomfortable as Alan started to stress.

"I don't like this at all." He moaned. "Let's get out of here."

"Alan, I'm at full power as it is. What do you think I'm doing?" I replied. "Just calm down. We'll be alright."

Suddenly, the sound disappeared as quickly as it arrived. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but the experience was far from over. It felt like as if a dark shadow had descended over Thunderbird Two. Everything appeared to be darker. We had been immersed in shadow. Then...well then, this next part even had me jump out of my skin. Thunderbird Two was bombarded with an intense, thick bright white light. It completely flooded the cockpit. Its intense rays penetrated the UV screens. Alan screamed as it made his retinas ache. I shielded my eyes with my arms. It felt like the intense light was cutting through my body and hitting my eyes. I could remember feeling a mild burning sensation on my skin. The cabin temperature began to rise. I tried calling out to Alan, but for some reason, he couldn't hear me.

"Alan!...Al...Alan!"

"It' hurts!" He cried. "My face is burning! Just make it stop!

I kept calling out to my frightened little brother. I cried out until my throat became sore. My vision was gone. I couldn't even see my hands in front of my face. It was at this moment that frightening thoughts entered my mind. Was I going to die? Was this really the end of the world? I tried to stand but found that I couldn't. The light had completely paralysed my body. I felt completely helpless as well as responsible for my brother's well being. However, my other senses seemed to kick in. Amongst the sound of Alan's distress, I could hear a faint electronic sound. It sounded like multiple computers beeping and buzzing. It was coming from above us. Something mechanical was above us and it was responsible for the light. Then after what seemed to be an eternity, the light dissipated. It didn't gradually fade away either. It just flicked off like a light bulb. It was completely unbelievable. I fought the flashing spots in my eyes as the room began to return to normal. I remained in my seat. Completely stunned by what had just happened. My entire body throbbed as a dull aching sensation travelled the course of my body. It felt like an eternity before I could move again.

As I drifted forward towards the window, my eyes were drawn to the source of the light. I caught a glimpse of the object responsible. I couldn't quite make out the shape of the thing. Its structure was unique, though. It was black but it's hull would shimmer in front of the sun. There were three lights on its underbelly. The middle light appeared to be the largest. There was no doubt that that was the light that hit us. I looked at it frantically trying to see if I could discover any more details of this thing. Then, within seconds, it shot off at lightning speed into the distance. I tell you, this thing shot off faster than Thunderbird One ever could. It was unbelievable. I needed time to process this, but I needed to check on Alan before I could. I spun around in my chair to see him sitting there also in a daze. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. His face was red like he had caught sunburn. Distinct burn marks appeared on his neck. I knelt down in front of him to examine the burns. They looked aggressive as if he had burnt his skin on a naked flame. As I held him and reassured him, I felt his body shake. This experience had scared him half to death.

"It's going to be alright," I said calmly as I hugged him. "Look at me, Alan."

Alan's eyes shifted position as they locked with mine. "Virgil, my neck hurts."

"I know buddy. You have a sore neck but listen, I'm going to get us out of here okay?"

As I swung back around, I checked the navigation readings. Somehow, Thunderbird Two had been thrown miles off course. We were still flying, only now we were heading towards Russia. Did this thing drag us with it? I threw on the thrusters and corrected our position. It was then that I noticed a shooting pain going up my left arm. I placed the craft on Auto so I could check myself over. I took off my utility suit and examined my arm. It seemed as if Alan wasn't the only one to be marked by this thing. My left arm was covered in huge red blisters similar to the burn marks that were on Alan's neck. My god, did they ache. I went to the onboard medical kit, pulled out an anti-bacterial spray and got to work on the burns. I was able to relieve the pain just, not the swelling.

As he began to regain his senses, Alan asked all sort of questions. Questions that I didn't have the answer to. It had become the topic of conversation during the duration of our trip back to base. He would repeatedly ask me questions like; "Just what was that thing?" "Was it Aliens?" "Was it the Hood?" "Could it be GDF?" Only my blunt reply would be; "I don't know." A weird vibe lingered in the cockpit, almost as if the engines had shut down and were just flying on vapour. The sense of time and direction had gone too. Everything just seemed too quiet, unreal and with no sense of real direction. I guess I was still dazed myself. That's the only rational explanation for that really. Of course eventually, the silence was broken by the sound and appearance of a friendly face. Scott's image appeared on the holo projector in front of me.

" _Thunderbird One calling Thunderbird Two. Come in!"_ He moaned. _"Come on Virgil, this isn't like you. Pick up will you?"_

"Thunderbird One from Thunderbird Two. We're here, Scott. How long were we?" I asked out of curiosity.

" _We lost your position two hours ago. We lost radio contact and everything."_ Scott explained with frustration. _"Everyone was getting worried so I set out to look for you. What happened? Are you both okay?"_

I didn't know what to tell him. I couldn't just say; _"Oh yeah you know, we had a run in with some Aliens."_ My main priority was to get Alan home so we could both receive some treatment. However, my older bro was expecting an answer.

"We don't know what happened exactly. I'll try to explain it later." I said. "Could you have Brains set up the infirmary? Alan and I have received burns that need to be treated as soon as we land."

" _Burns!? What happened!?"_

"Like I said. I'll explain later."

Thunderbird One appeared over the horizon. Scott swung her around and together, we flew back to the island. I remember the sense of relief and comfort when we approached the island. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind as I attempted to make a mental explanation. I needed to tell everyone something.

As soon as we touched down, We helped Alan to the Infirmary. It didn't take long fro Brains to examine the burn marks on his neck and my arm. My heart sank slightly when he explained that we had been subjected to a very slight burst of radiation. See if it wasn't for Thunderbird Two's radiation screens, we would have been in serious trouble. We both were tired, thirsty and hungry as we tried to recover from our predicament. I was free to go, but Brains wanted to keep Alan in for observation. I headed up to the lounge where the family were waiting for me. Even John had come down from the station. He wanted to hear this too. Anyway, I began to explain to them what had happened.

Guess how they reacted? Go on, take a guess? No? Well, their reactions were mixed. John kept asking about Alan, Kayo thought it was The Hood. She was wrong. Gordon thought it was an experimental GDF craft. He was wrong. Scott made a decision. He called up Colonel Casey and explained to her what had happened. She reported that there no aircraft in the area at the time. I couldn't believe it. Puzzled by this, Scott sat down next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"What do you think it was? He asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I just can't think of anything to explain this. You heard Casey, they weren't flying in the area at the time. Yet, John said he picked up something right before it happened."

John's ears pricked up at the sound of his name.

"That's right." He agreed. "I picked up something big flying behind them just minutes before this encounter happened. If I could get EOS to replay the readings, I could make a hard copy and send it to Casey as evidence."

"Okay, but evidence for what?" Scott replied to a point. "The Hood is behind bars and International Rescue doesn't have any other known enemies. As far as I see it, this wasn't an attack. I certainly don't believe it was little green men."

"I just believe that Virgil and Alan deserve an explanation into what they experienced," John explained. "I mean, a giant ball of light flooding Thunderbird Two? It doesn't sound right."

Scott shot down John's point. "Of course, we know that, but just think about it. How would we look if we told our GDF associates that International Rescue came into contact with a UFO? They would quickly shut down the story and us with it. That's something that we can't afford to have happen. I'm sorry Virgil. As hard as it may seem, I'm afraid we're just going to have to forget it."

I sighed at his comment. As much as it hurt me deeply, I knew that he was right. I guess I never knew how dodgy the subject of UFO's actually was. I had no choice in the matter. I could just drop it and move on, or I could report it and risk ruining International Rescue's reputation.

It's been weeks since that incident took place. Alan eventually made a recovery and is now on training duty up in Thunderbird Five. He's a real trooper. He's tried his best to move on. Only I can tell that it's changed his life. It's certainly changed mine. As for me, I continued work as normal. I tried my hardest not to think about the event. It still gives me nightmares, but at the end of the day they are just dreams. They can't hurt you.

You know something, it's funny how one event like that can change the way you think about things. Like I said before, I never believed in Aliens or anything like that, but now, I've had to ask myself. "Are we alone in the universe?" I guess the truth is kept from us for our protection. We're not ready to handle the truth. Of course, I'm not saying I encountered Aliens. All I know is that there are things that can't always be explained. I know UFO's are real. I just hope that it is indeed a top secret GDF project that we weren't meant to see. Who knows. I'm just lucky to be alive and able to tell this story. Okay, it's time to put this story to bed. I have to finish some maintenance work on Pod 2.

End Recording.


	7. Virgil and Gordon's Drunken Endeavour

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 ** **Virgil and Gordon's Drunken Endeavour.****

 **This is the story of a rescue that went successfully. In fact, it went a little too well. After Scott checked back in with the island, things quickly settled in the family lounge. There were no calls from John, everybody seemed to be busy, but for Scott, one question lingered in his head. Where were Virgil and Gordon? It had been over three hours since he returned to the island and he had received nothing. He sat there in the lounge, immersed in deep thought when Kayo entered the lounge. She sat down next to him and placed her hand on his arm.**

"Still heard nothing from them then?" she asked.

Scott frowned. "No. Not a peep. It doesn't make sense. It's not like them not to check in." I could have sworn that they took off not long after I did."

"Well if John hasn't called through then he must be tracking them," Kayo replied. "You need to chill out."

However, before Scott could reply. Virgil's signal appeared on the projection screen. He was approaching the island, but height and speed were all off. He also noted that his flying style was erratic, almost as if he had no control of the craft.

Scott opened a call. "Base calling Thunderbird Two. Virgil, we're reading you. Come in."

A few seconds later, Virgil's hologram appeared. He appeared to be singing and giggling away to himself. Scott looked at his eyes. They were glazed over. As he began to speak, Virgil belched loudly.

" _Did somebody order a pizza. Hahaha! Hey, dude. Can we...*burp* can we land or something because we're totally tired and that."_ He said.

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second. Have you been drinking?"

" _N-no. I'm perfectly sober."_ Virgil snickered as he swayed in his seat. " _But Gordon is. He totally drank too much. *burp* that was a lie. I did drink but I only had a pint. That was also a lie."_

Gordon's image materialised behind Virgil's. Scott scowled at the sight of his intoxicated younger brother. Gordon looked a little rough around the edges. His hair was ruffled, his lip was split and parts of his utility harness were hanging off his suit.

 _"Hey, Virgieee. That guy looks blue... Hello, little blue guy! Who do you belong to?"_ he babbled.

Scott grumbled as he heard Kayo snigger behind him. "Okay, that's it. I'm bringing you down on auto-pilot. You two better have a good explanation for this! Gordon, you should know better!"

" _Scott! His name is Scott!"_ Virgil continued. His state of awareness had completely blanked everything.

Gordon rubbed his head. _"Is it? I thought it was "Dave" for some reason."_

Virgil gave him a look and paused. _"We know a Dave?"_

Scott huffed. He shut off the transmission and activated the new auto-piloting system. It was the first time that he had used the machine. Its initial purpose was to guide in the crafts if they were damaged or suffered malfunctions of any kind. He just didn't expect drunk flying to be one of them. He guided Thunderbird Two gently onto the runway and steered her into the hangar.

Twenty minutes elapsed. Scott sat there patiently as he waited for two bumbling brothers to enter the lounge. He had Grandma on standby with a mop and bucket. Kayo had spread the news to Alan which had him giggling like a child. They both sat on the staircase, displaying huge grins on their faces. They knew it was going to be good entertainment.

Virgil was the first to enter the lounge. He felt his way into the lounge, using the furniture to support him. He had his shirt on backwards and both his boots on the wrong feet. Gordon shortly followed, clutching his stomach with a groan.

"Clean up in...Aisle...Hangar..ohh."

Scott folded his arms. "I take it that you both had a successful trip back? Where did you go?"

Virgil swayed around. "Scott...we...*hic* we went and found a little place on the way back. It's so good. We didn't drink much. That was a lie too. I'm so good at them. Haa!"

Scott sighed. "Alright. How much did you both have to drink?"

Virgil and Gordon looked at each other with blank expressions. They tried to think, but it clearly wasn't happening.

Gordon kept shaking his head as Virgil tried to remember. "How much did we drink, G-Gordo? Was it Two... Four?...Five?"

Gordon held up six fingers.

"So three?" Virgil continued as he struggled with his blurred vision.

"Six, Virg. We had six!" Gordon replied as he flung his arms about.

Virgil put a finger to his lips. "Shhh, Scott's right there. H-Hey Scott, how did you get there?"

Kayo and Alan giggled away with amusement. Grandma entered the lounge with a disgruntled look on her face.

"What these boys need is some food to soak up all that liquor," she said. "Fortunately we have some stuff left over from Sunday roast."

Virgil staggered towards the kitchen. "I could use... a sandwich. *burp* Let's g-go."

Scott stood there concealing a smile. Not long after the two brothers entered the kitchen, a large metallic crashing sound reverberated off the walls. Gordon's face peered around the door frame.

"Don't worry. W-we got this... I think."

Scott rubbed his temples. He could no longer hide the laughter that brewed within. Brains entered the lounge with a clipboard in his hand. He had been down in the hangar bay, reviewing Thunderbird Two's flight data. He just knew that Scott was going to love what he discovered.

"S-Scott, I was able to trace back to the rescue site and I was able to find where they w-went for the following two hours."

"Oh, this is going to be classic," Scott replied as he folded his arms. "Where were they?"

"I-It seems that they flew to a nightclub about a few miles away from the rescue zone. The audio transcripts say t-that Gordon felt like celebrating and he enticed Virgil to go there. H-Have you ever heard of a place called "The Asteroid Bar?"

"The Asteroid Bar? Isn't that like a micro pub?" Scott asked.

"Yes well, there's more. Virgil didn't bother to activate the security fields. So he landed casually and well..."

Scott's eyes widened. "Stop! He didn't did he?"

Brains adjusted his specs. "H-He landed straight in the parking lot where anybody could get to her."

Scott rubbed his temples harder than before. "Oh, my god! What was he thinking!?"

"W-What are you going to do?" Brains asked innocently.

"Whatever dad would do, if I knew what that was. Fortunately, nobody tried to break into Thunderbird Two, not that they could anyway. Thanks, Brains but maybe you better get Max to clean her cabin out. I hate to think what Gordon has done up there."

Meanwhile, in the Kitchen, Virgil and Gordon's attempts to make a simple sandwich hadn't quite gone to plan. Virgil's distorted eyesight prevented him from seeing his hands. He thought he was spreading a slice of bread. However, he had actually spread the breadboard in a coat of Peanut Butter. Gordon had used his time wisely as he studied the microwave, only he didn't know what it was.

"Is this..a TV?" He asked as he slumped over the counter. "It's so shiny."

"It's a Microwave you dingus. You heat your...food in it."

Gordon stroked the small door. "Wow..Wow...Wow. I can...cook dinner in this? I should show this to P-Penelope."

Virgil stumbled back. He pointed at his brother and laughed. "You love Penny!"

"Hey.. shut up!"

"You love her.. Haa!"

"Shhh Shhhut up you!"

Kayo entered the kitchen to see what was the commotion. Highly amused by their antics, the sat up on a stool and observed them with a smile.

"So boys, how are the sandwiches coming along?"

Gordon stopped what he was doing. He already forgot what he was doing.

"We were making S-sandwiches?" he slurred.

Virgil leant over towards Kayo. His strong whiskey-sodden breath impacted with her sinuses. Fortunately, she had a stomach of iron and had smelt far worse in the hangar.

"Hey Kayo, let me tell you a secret." He whispered in a daze. "We've made a bit of a mess here. It's like we don't know how to make Sandwiches."

Kayo maintained a straight face. "Oh, I can see that. You know what you boys really need? You need to cool off. You both look a little flustered in here."

Gordon agreed with a heavy nod.

"Why don't you both go out to the Pool and lie down under the cool air for awhile huh?" She went on as she gently guided the pair out of the kitchen.

The brothers looked at each other for a moment. "S-sure pretty lady. Lead the way."

Kayo calmly and casually led the drunken wrecks out towards the patio doors. Scott, Alan, and Brains kept their calm composures. Despite the entertainment, they were still running a rescue organisation. They just hoped that John wouldn't call in with a distress call anytime soon.

Outside on the patio, Virgil began to lose consciousness. He eventually blacked out and landed on a sun lounger. He legs dangled off the end. While he snored away, Gordon drifted dangerously close to the pool's edge. He swayed around in the cool summer breeze when he spotted his reflection in the water.

"Oh, my god! I'm drowning! Hang on I'll save you!"

Without hesitation, he dived headfirst into the pool. The cold temperature caused his body to jolt, but the water did have its uses. At that point, his head became a little clearer. Scott rushed outside. He stood there with a look of amusement as Gordon shivered away.

"Can I h-have a towel please?"

"I think it's best we got you to bed, don't you bro?" Scott replied as he helped his little brother out of the pool.

"What about Virgil?" Kayo asked him, as they headed on inside.

"He's out for the count, I'm afraid," Scott replied. "Leave him there. Let him think about what he's done."

"Well, he's going to be in for one hell of a headache in the morning." Kayo sighed as Alan helped her carry Gordon to his room. "Well, they both will."

"Serves them right," Scott replied. "I would have words with them, but I think it's best to leave them with Grandma. She'll probably make them scrub the toilet again."

Virgil awoke to the sun beating down directly on his face. His lips felt cracked as he ran his tongue along them. As he tried to lift himself up off the sun lounger, the strength of a hundred weights hit his head.

"What happened last night?" he moaned. "How did I get out here?"

Before he could react, he groaned at the sound of a bucket hitting the concrete. He looked up to see the vengeful, authoritative face of Grandma looming over him.

"Rise and shine, young man!" She said as she helped him to his feet. "You've had your fun last night. Now I'm going to have mine."

"Please be fair," Virgil begged her. "I don't feel very well."

"Well, you should have thought about that before you destroyed my breadboard," Grandma replied as he forced a mop handle into his hand. "Now I want you to scrub the patio from top to bottom. Then afterwards, you can get to work on the woodwork. It could use a good polish."

As he began to recover, Virgil took on his task. Sloshing his mop around in his bucket of water, he began to wash away the dirt that had encased the patio deck. As he worked away by himself, he whistled a gentle tune to himself. The tune became repetitive. So much so that the lone Tracy brother decided to sing it.

It's a hard-knocked life for us. It's hard-knocked life for us. No one cares for you, a smidge. No, When you're in an Orphanage. It's a hard-knocked life.

Yes, indeed Virgil had learnt his lesson. As for Gordon? Well, Grandma had placed him on kitchen detail. It's important folks. Never drink and operate heavy rescue machinery, for it could leave you in the hands of a hard authority driven old lady.

The End.


	8. We're Only Human

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 ** **We're Only Human****

 **You know, sometimes the world seems to demand too much of us. Well at least that's what the boys think anyway. Sure we have the finest machines known to man, capable of saving lives whatever the conditions, but that doesn't make us invincible. It certainly doesn't make us gods. Occasionally something will go wrong, whether a flood got out of control, or an explosion destroyed a hotel off it's foundations, there will always be times when we will fail. It's already happened before. I use to tell the boys that we weren't gods and they were only doing their best. This time, I don't think they believed me so much. You see, I had to send them out to one of the toughest rescues that we had ever faced. A Nuclear reactor was on the verge of a meltdown when an asteroid struck one of the reactors. Scott, Virgil and Alan raced to the scene, only they were too late. They tried to evacuate the area as quickly as they could, but the plant exploded. Nearly half the people there were vaporised.**

I heard the story on the newscast. Sure we were devastated by it, Kayo was crying, Brains went as white as a sheet, I felt nothing but remorse and guilt. That was nothing compared to how the boys were feeling. Sometimes I feel that I ask too much of them. Sure they never like to admit it, but They can't hide their guilt when they've been beaten.

As soon as Thunderbird 2 touched down, Scott appeared in the lounge. I couldn't get him to look into my eyes. He couldn't converse with me. I guess he struggled to find the right words. I needed him to wait with me, but he just insisted on going to his room. I sat him down as Kayo went to fetch the coffee. Virgil and Alan met Gordon back in the Hangar. You could tell that they tried to make sense of what happened, but there wasn't a whisper amongst them. As they all sat together with their heads in their hands, I tried to work out what to say to them. How could I assure my boys after this that they weren't to blame. I've never been good in these situations. Their mother always knew what to say. This wasn't you're average school bully conversation.

"I know...how you're feeling." I began. "At least I think I do. Boys this wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was." Virgil muttered. "We could have been there."

"And you were there." I continued. "You were all there. You showed up, you...you managed to save as many people as you could."

I must have hit a tender nerve with Scott. I never seen him so angry before. The look of rage in his eyes. This is how he deals with pain.

"Yeah well we didn't!" He snapped. "We failed! Everyone is dead, dad! They are dead! What the hell do we tell their families!? Huh? How can we tell them that International Rescue failed to save their loved ones!? This was our fault because we couldn't get there. We...we couldn't save them and I can't...I don't know how to live with the guilt!"

I could have snapped him out of it. I could have walked up to his face in order to get him to calm down, but I didn't. He had the right to be angry. It was the only way he could deal with the pain. There was no doubt about it, Scott was speaking for all of them. As an awkward silence set over villa, I studied the expressions in my boys faces. Virgil tried to keep it together, but you could see he was struggling. Alan just looked washed out, as if something had snapped inside him. Gordon looked irritated. He could never handle bad news without feeling somewhat responsible for it. Gordon always felt that he had to be involved one way or another. He was reeling in the tense negativity that was floating about the room. Alan remained silent. His eyes remained fixed on the floor. Virgil wanted to cry. So why didn't he? In that moment, My words faded into nothing. Why did Lucille ever believe in motivational speeches? The only way I could get through to them was with a story from my past. A chapter in my life that I thought I would never have to revisit. I took a deep breath, sat down behind my desk and began.

"When I was a Colonel in the Air Force, I was assigned to command a top secret operation in South Pacific. Operation Black Bolt, a name I hoped I'd never have to reveal again. It's job was to send three experimental atomic powered warships out to re-enact a war games scenario. We was out there for a week. The first two days went according to plan. Dummy targets were destroyed, Simulated enemy bombers made their runs and were destroyed. It was going great. Then one morning, we were given our third battle routine. A TX34 bomber was ordered to make a dummy attack on one of the ships. My god I wish it hadn't. See it made it's attack run on it's planned flight path when it's systems decided to fail. Everything went dead, the electronics, the manual release controls. Everything. The pilot couldn't even eject to safety. All I could do was watch from the bridge. Time seemed to stand still you know. That TX jet collided with the second atomic warship. It spear headed the ships atomic reactor core by piercing it's way through the ships hull. The ship went down in a matter of minutes. I scrambled to send out a search party. All I got back was that there were no survivors."

Gordon's ears pricked up. "How comes we were never told this?"

"Because I felt that it wasn't an important lesson to our organisation." I replied.

"Okay then why are you telling us this now?" Virgil asked. "How does this help us?"

"I felt the same way that day." I continued. "Everything you're feeling now, I felt it back then. The only difference was that I had to claim responsibility for the loss of those lives. There were Fifty people on board that ship when it went down. As soon as my report was sent back to the base where I was stationed, I was interrogated, ridiculed, judged, hell even suspended without pay. They thought I was to blame when it was an accident waiting to happen. Eventually the investigation came to the conclusion that the jet was in no condition to fly but it was too late by then. I had hit depression. I lost my appetite which then affected my health. I couldn't even sleep at night. Before I met your mother, I went to see a therapist and I was offered three weeks of intense treatment. They thought I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but all it took was a one to one session. In the end I came to learn that it wasn't my fault. That pilot could have died in battle, that ship could have exploded in dry dock. I had to find closure and chalk it up to a life changing experience. Something that would eventually make me stronger. The same applies to what happened here today."

Scott huffed. "Yeah whatever dad."

"Look! At the end of the day, you put on those suits and fly out there because you put your lives on the line to save others, but risk is apart of the game. Not everything is going to work out in your favour. You are human beings capable of making human decisions. You are not computers! I know you are all hurting but you need to look at this as a learning curve. Disasters like this will happen, but you can decided whether you want to prevent it from happening again. People will die and people will hurt, but their families will find closure and so will you."

Scott seemed to be in denial. The news seemed to have fried his brain. Virgil really took the news as if it was going to kill him.

"Boys, I will always be proud of you. You make me so proud each and every day, but you need to look at yourselves and think. Did you cause this? Did you attack the station? No! You tried to rescue those people before you cared. As long as the people see that then they will always respect you. Now I think we need a few weeks to recover from this incident. I'll keep John informed but I think we need the downtime."

"But supposing we're needed again, dad?" Virgil asked.

"You leave that to me. After this, the world will be in mourning and so will we. Boys you're only human at the end of the day. The pain that we share validates that. Don't ever blame yourselves because it will ruin you."

Scott nodded and slowly rose from his seat. I knew that the message had gotten through to him. He seemed much calmer. Kayo eventually arrived with the drinks just as Scott marched for his room. Gordon stepped out onto the balcony. He was finally processing information again. Virgil rubbed his forehead as he headed for the door.

"Thanks dad." He muttered. "Look if you don't mind, I have work to do in the hangar."

"Go right ahead son." I smiled.

My focus shifted to young Alan. My heart sank for him. It appeared that this incident really hit him the most. He still couldn't look at me. He still couldn't handle it. There was only one thing I could do for him in that moment. I put the commander role to one side so I could be a father to my boy. I sat next to him and rubbed his back.

"Alan." I said gently. "It's going to be okay, Son.

Alan cried as he rammed his head into my shoulder. He cried hard to the point that his heart was going to do a runner. I sighed and looked up towards the ceiling. I always envisioned that my beloved wife was still watching over us.

"The boys would have needed you today." I muttered. "We all would have needed you."

Alan finally started to speak to me.

"I'm sorry dad." he sobbed. "I tried to keep it together like the other but..."

"No buts. You're all going move on from this. I promise you." I said with a smile as I ruffled his hair. "We're only human."


	9. The Last Transmission of Jeff Tracy

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 ** **The Last Transmission of Jeff Tracy.****

 **~Start recording~**

International Rescue. That name has built up quite a reputation over the past few years. I guess I should be proud of what this family has set out to achieve, but I don't always feel that way. Some days, it's almost as if you boys go and sign your death warrants every time you go out on a rescue. Sure it's the nature of the job, but not a moment goes by when I wish I could have employed the best of the best, instead of sacrificing my your lives. Anybody could have been as dedicated, but I didn't and it's now a reality that I have to live with. Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan. I have always wanted the best for you boys. I've tried to raise you since your beloved mother passed away. I tried to protect you all when you were growing up, but now I finally slipped up. It's time I told you the truth.

Should any of you find this transmission and wonder why I'm being so negative, it's because my suspicions have been realised. I'm now probably dead or presumed missing. I never wanted to cause any alarm, but it's all let to this moment. International Rescue was almost exposed when we were about to go into operation. It all started when I employed Kayo Kyrano. Her credentials hadn't been completely cleared, but we were in dire need of a security member of the team. She was a qualified pilot so naturally, I accepted. I was a fool. Now before you one of you jump to conclusions, it's not that I didn't like Kayo. She was a pawn in another man's game.

I found a tracking device which was concealed inside her utility case. It was specifically positioned amongst one of the top secret manuals for the Thunderbird Shadow project. Brains had just constructed it at the time. It was my belief that the tracking device was actually a small secret camera. I still believe to this day that Kayo didn't know who put it there, but after I destroyed it, things began to get intense.

When you boys were studying, I would be out taking trips to the mainland and back. The flights were all merely routine, collecting component orders and recruiting agents from across the globe. I can still remember the first night I encountered him. I was on board a passenger flight to New York from London after meeting up with Lady Penelope. I remember sitting there in the passenger lounge and all I could feel was these eyes glaring at me from behind. Like someone had been watching me board the plane. I turned around casually just as if a passenger would to take a look around. He was sitting there dressed in a black suit and was pretending to read the paper, but he didn't do a very convincing job. Yeah he was just this slender, bald, pale faced man with a dark menacing vibe which emanated from him.

I spent the next few miles, trying to shake him off my tail. From New York to Seattle. From Seattle to Chicago. I'm telling you he was there. It was at that point that I needed to collect some information on this man so I took a series pictures of him one night when I was spied on in a restaurant. I've only just received the results from my friend at the World Government. His registered name is simply known as **The Hood.** Nobody knew who he really was. Where he came from but I personally knew his intentions. He wants our technology, boys. He wants it for pure evil. You see, The Hood is a terrorist. A terrorist with a profile for black market sales and mass destruction. It had become my sworn responsibility to protect your lives as well as the organization.

The Hood, however was relentless. He had sent out threatening messages to me on personal radio channels. I don't know how he got them. It didn't seem important to me at the time, but I had to bring this guy out in the open. I needed to know why he was doing this? So after this message ends, I'm going to take off under the cover of night and sort this out. I hope to come back, but incase I don't then it's important that you know that I'm just a stupid fool who failed his family because his idyllic dream had endangered them. I just want to say that, you boys will always be my pride and joy even after I die.

Scott, I know you will always watch over your brothers in the same way I have watched over you all. John, You always made me proud, even when you thought you were alone. You are never alone son. Never. Virgil, So talented. You certainly take after your old man in looks, but never back down like you did back in prep college. You always were able to resolve the conflicts around here. Gordon, despite the times we had, trying to get you to eat, sleep, socialise and trying to get you to do your homework, I always knew you would come out on top. Alan, son, I know I never made much time for you when you were little. I know it was always Grandma that bonded with you, but I know enough about you to know that you will make me proud. Scott was your favourite brother growing up, that I remember. You always looked up to him. Well, I love you son, and I want you to keep looking up to him. I hope we both get the time to spend together properly. Please take good care of them, mother. That's all I ask.

Well, I guess that's it. The plane is fuelled and ready to leave. Before I end this tape, I may have failed you as a father, but you'll always be my world. Please be there for each other. Please make a difference.

I love you all.

…

This is Jeff Tracy signing off.

~End Recording~


	10. Rescuing The Rescuer

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.**

 **Rescuing the Rescuer**

 **This story really is a depressing one to start with, but it ended in a chain of events that would inspire me to keep doing my job with pride. My name is Alfred, but everybody tends to call me Al because you know... Alfred makes me sound like a clapped out old man. My life was a bit of a wreck when this story began. Back then, I was struggling to make ends meet as an out of hours paramedic. Now just to clarify, I've had a track record of being a failure. I got married too soon which then ended up in a quick divorce, I lost my house in the settlement which wound me up with a small run-down apartment. My financial problems clung to my soul like a monkey on my back. The only thing I was good at was saving lives. It was all I had.**

One night, I was taking my usual route along a stretch of road in Oxfordshire. I had just been out on a call to check in on a patient who had slipped in the bathtub. It was nothing too serious which meant that the long drive out there wasn't really worth it. That's not really the attitude to have in a job like this I know, but I was just so... stressed. Lost in my own thoughts, I caught a flash of light out of the corner of my eyes. It was only for a split second, but it was long enough to draw my attention away from the road. Pulling over, I rolled down my windows to see if my ears could pick up on anything. There was a sound in the air. A Sound that I never heard in my life before. It was a loud, sonic whooshing sound as if a fighter jet had just flown over, only it was much lower in pitch and tone. It grew louder indicating that whatever it was was about pas overhead. I looked up at the sky and my jaw dropped over. There was a strange looking aircraft up there and it was on fire! Searing flames and thick black smoke poured out of its engines. It's cockpit lights flickered. It was going to hit the countryside at any moment. Before it could disappear into the dark horizon, I caught the small shape of a person ejecting into the sky.

" _That must have been the pilot."_ I thought as I reached over to grab my transmitter. "This Al 9341 calling base. I've just witnessed an Air crash. The pilot ejected and may need medical attention. I'm going over to investigate."

" _Roger, Al9431. We'll have a bed standing by at the Hospital."_ The radio dispatcher acknowledged.

Using a rough bearing of where the pilot might have landed, I turned off the road, cutting through the neighboring fields. A fireball erupted in the distance. The aircraft must have struck the ground. After several minutes of driving and guess working, The remains of a tattered parachute appeared in the beam of my headlights. I got out to investigate with a flashlight. It didn't take me long to spot traces of blood on the ground. I grabbed a medical kit from my truck expecting to see a grim sight in the next field. The pilot must have managed to walk a little. He left quite a bloody trail for me to follow. There he was, slumped up against the side of a boulder, clutching a blood-soaked rib cage. Shining my light on him, I was able to get a good look at the guy. He was just... a kid. He had to be in his early Twenties at least. He was wearing a blue utility suit of some kind, holding a green harness over his shoulder. He looked at me with his a washed out look on his face. His lip was bleeding, his left eye was swollen. His face was stained with dirt and smoke.

While partially conscious, he stumbled towards me before falling. I leaped forward to catch him as he began to gargle something towards me.

"H...Help. Thunderbird...Thunderbird..."

"Easy, Easy there fella," I replied softly. "You're in a bad way at the moment. Everything's going to be alright."

The young fella continued to spit out blood as I began to bandage his rib cage. It was only a temporary solution which I hoped would reduce the loss of blood until I could get him to the Hospital. I used all of my weight to get him back to my truck. He kept slipping in and out of consciousness all the while I carried him. I really didn't want him to die on me.

Gently laying him on the back seat of my truck, I climbed in and steered towards the hospital with my sirens whaling. To my surprise, the guy began to regain consciousness just enough to talk to me.

"Who... are you?" He asked.

"I'm a paramedic with the London National Medical Team," I replied bluntly. "I was just passing by when I witnessed your crash. You're very a lucky guy."

"I... I guess so." He coughed. "What's your... name?"

For some reason, I found it hard to reply, but I needed to keep him talking. "I'm Alfred, but people call me Al. What's yours?"

"Virgil... I'm... I'm Virgil. Virgil Tracy." He replied.

"Nice to meet you. Where are you from? What do you do?"

I was not prepared for what he had to say next. Seriously, I couldn't work out if it was irony or fate or god knows what.

"I'm from International... Rescue. You know... massive machines... little pod vehicles saving the world from bad... bad guys."

"Wait a second? International Rescue, I've heard about you guys! It makes sense now when you said _Thunderbird_ earlier in the field."

"I know. Ironic huh?" He said as he winced at his pain.

"But I don't understand? What happened? Why did you crash?"

He began to whisper as he attempted to explain his situation. I guess he couldn't get his head together. I mean talk about asking an in-depth question to a severely concussed man!

"It all happened so fast." He whispered as he began to pass out. "I just... I just..."

I didn't like this at all. "Virgil? Come on Virgil stay with me now!? We're almost at the hospital."

The welcoming lights of the town greeted us as I pulled up to emergency wing of the hospital. Three attendants along with a doctor waited outside with a gurney. They gently lifted the unconscious International Rescue pilot onto the thing and wheeled him straight to casualty. I followed but was then told that I could not go inside. Well, that was my own fault really. Casualty wasn't my department. I just wanted to help. As I sat there in the staff room, a call came over the intercom. It was my boss. I was ordered to write a complete report of the situation and what had happened. I never had to write one of these classified reports before. I certainly didn't know why I had to fill one out now.

As soon as I signed the document, he told me to wait in the on-call room. For the next few hours, I would hear nothing else about young Virgil and his condition.

It was now One in the morning and I just sat there in the now isolated on-call room. I was exhausted, I should have just called it a night but I just couldn't go home. This whole thing had triggered my mental state like an engine had been revved up to the max. I just had to know what was being kept from me? What wasn't I supposed to know? It's enough to make you rate yourself as a zero. I was a well-established one already so I don't know why this occasion felt different. I stared into my almost empty coffee cup, trying to theorize everything. I never really knew much about International Rescue, but with the work that they do and the lives that they save, you can't really help but idolize them. They certainly meant a lot to the world. I didn't even matter to my own town. I even told myself that I wouldn't even get thanks or some sort of recognition for my assistance. At that point, I didn't know where I wanted to be.

The doors opened behind me breaking my thoughts. Another man came over to greet me. Just looking at him, I could see that he was here to see the patient. He wore a matching blue utility suit only his harness was a shimmering grey colour.

"Are you Alfred?" He asked as he gestured a handshake. "The man who found my brother?"

" _Brother?"_ I thought as I accepted the gesture. "Yeah I'm him... and you are?"

"I'm Scott Tracy from International Rescue." He said with a smile. "I'm the one who had your boss make you fill in a classified document. I'm sorry about that, but we had to make sure that the crash you witnessed remained top secret. It's a long story which I won't bother you with, but I just wanted to say thank you for saving my brother's life. We're very grateful to you."

I don't take gratitude very well. I rarely even receive it.

"How is he doing?" I asked.

"He's received a few fractured ribs and swelling to his eye but he'll make a full recovery at our base," Scott replied. "I know he would like to say thank you himself, but he's still unconscious. You're his hero."

I sighed and sat back down. "I'm no hero. I'm just a deadbeat paramedic who happened to be at the right place at the right time. I wouldn't have found him properly if I didn't use my brains. A lot of the time, I just deal with false alarms. No, it's you guys who are the real heroes. I mean, you put your lives on the line constantly to save those who need help. It takes courage to do what you do. I don't have it."

Scott sat down next to me and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Al, you couldn't be more wrong." He said. "You know, sometimes I forget that you all risk yourselves too. I mean sure, we have our machines and our technology to help but at the end of the day, we're just as human and mortal as everyone else. Today showed that even the rescuers need rescuing and when that happens, you will be right out there fighting to save our lives. Virgil made it out okay but it could have easily been a lot worse. In my book, that makes you the true hero. All it comes down to how you value your job and yourself as a person. Don't think of yourself as Al the deadbeat graveyard paramedic. Think of yourself as Al, the man who saved Virgil Tracy of Thunderbird Two,"

His speech left me with some things to think about as he waved me goodbye. Suddenly, I was able to rethink the way valued myself. Okay stop right there, I'm not going to end this story with cliches and cheesy lines. I just had a shift of perspective from International Rescue. Enough to help me get out of this rut. Before I could think about the possibilities, Scott looked back at me and said one last thing;

"Oh and one more thing, I convinced your boss of giving you a promotion. You deserve it. Take care, Al."

Did he just say a promotion? A PROMOTION!? Does he even have the authority to do that? Pfft.. who cares. I'm Al, the paramedic who saved Virgil Tracy of Thunderbird Two, It's a bit of a long title but I can make it work.

END


	11. My Christmas Wish

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Stories Between.**

 **Disclaimer: A collection of my early one-shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non-canon.**

 **My Christmas Wish**

John had always wanted more for Christmas. It was that one time of the year where he could leave the solitude of Thunderbird Five and join his family for the festivities. He enjoyed spending it with his family, but besides the fun and games that he shared with his brothers, there was a gaping hole in his heart. He was saving it for someone special. Someone who had been on his mind since the day he met her. Her name was Tessa and he longed for the day when he could see her again.

John recounted back to a few months to when he was on leave. He loved to travel to coastal towns across the globe. He felt the therapeutic benefits of being by the ocean. It helped him relax and regain that sense of freedom. Spending endless months in space left him lacking in nutrients. He was passing through Miami Beach when he met Tessa. Tessa was slightly younger than him. Her light brown hair swept gently in the breeze. She emitted an enticing aura which drew him to her.

Naturally, John felt his anxiety levels spike when she approached him. She had clocked him checking her out all the while she had been there, but liked how shy he was being about it. Then in a move that he wasn't expecting, Tessa asked if she could sit with him.

"Hey. Is this seat taken?" She asked him innocently.

"N-No of course not." John stuttered slightly. "I was just hogging it. I'm quite partial to restaurant furniture."

Tessa shot him a confused smile as he laughed nervously under his breath.

"I recognise you from somewhere." She continued as she met his gaze. "You were on the news the other day. Yeah. You were apart of that team who save the miners the other day. International Rescue am I right?"

John smirked. "International Rescue is a nickname but you can call me John. Sorry. I make bad puns when I'm seen in public. I spend most of my time up in space."

"It's nice to meet you, John. You're a real hero." Tessa replied kindly. "It's okay. I'm used to seeing the cocky dim-witted types around here. All they want to do is impress me when all they do is lie through their teeth."

"Ah well, that's not me."

"I can see you're the awkwardly staring type though." She added. "I noticed you kept looking at me from over here."

John felt embarrassed by the fact that he been caught out. "Ahh yes...I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to be creepy."

Tessa chuckled into her glass. "It's alright. My instinct told me you weren't the creepy type. So are you here on vacation?"

"Yeah. I'm only passing through. I like to be by the ocean when I have time off, but if I'm honest I often isolate myself wherever I go. It's just something I do."

"Well if there's one thing I've learned, it's never to keep yourself distant from anyone. I know your line of work involves saving lives and doing good in the world, but you're only human. So I tell you what. How about I pull up a chair, we order some drinks and I can introduce you to the art of pleasant conversation?"

"That works for me." John agreed.

John felt his heart thump away in his chest as Tessa pulled up a chair next to felt like he was about to explore a whole new territory.

"So, you work in outer space?" She began with a cheeky smile. "That is so cool."

The pair sat there drinking and laughing until the sun dipped beneath the watery horizon. John's confidence level increased when Tessa expressed her passion for travelling, something that John also relished in. That one conversation ignited a chain of casual dates that would lead to something special. John was able to extend his visit so he could see Tessa a little while longer. So much so that when the time came for him to leave, they exchanged numbers with the promise for seeing each other again.

A month had passed when John returned to his duties on board the space satellite. While he worked, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He would try to find the time to call her through a private channel, but the experience wasn't the same. It was the distinct tones in her voice that kept him going. She wanted to see him too. The Christmas holiday was fast approaching, providing him with the opportunity to go and find her.

He eventually arrived home via the Space Elevator on the 20th of December. He tried his best to conceal his intentions from his brothers out of fear of being ridiculed, especially by Gordon. He found it increasingly hard to focus on his chores though. Everywhere he went, he could see her. She was in his dreams. Her laugh echoed in his thoughts when he would try to read or listen to music. His urge to take off for Miami bubbled inside him. All these positive emotions flooded his system, yet he didn't know how to describe it. It was all new to him.

It was Christmas Eve when he spent the night in his room hunched under a desk lamp. He was trying to make sense of his thoughts by writing them down, hoping to get a clear idea. He read his word aloud unaware that a pair of ears were listening in on him.

"What does this mean?" He sighed as he threw the paper across the room. "Why can't I stop thinking about her?"

"Because she speaks to your heart." Came voice from behind.

John spun round to see Penelope standing there in his doorway. She had passed his room to go to the balcony when she heard his ominous mutterings.

"How long have you been standing there, Lady Penelope?" He asked her with a look of annoyance.

"Enough to know that you're in love with this Tessa," Penelope replied smugly. "I've seen the same signs from your brother. He may be a ruthless tease but he also clams up when it comes to his feelings."

"You think it's love?" John asked her. "I mean. I like Tessa. We had such a great time the other month, and I thought she and I were just good friends, but I just can't get her out of my head. I'm just not used to this experience at all."

Penelope walked over to him and pulled him in for a hug. "John, being in space had shut you off from all the things you should have experienced a long time ago. Now, all of those experiences and emotions are finally catching up with you. Whoever this Tessa is, she touched your heart in a way you weren't expecting. It's natural to feel like this. Does she feel the same way?"

"She says that she misses me, but that could mean anything." John sighed. "I think she sees me differently."

"That's your paranoia talking," Penelope replied. "John, all you boys deserve the best. You all deserve to be happy. I think this your calling. Your chance to find that missing piece in your life besides your father and I think she's out there right now, feeling the same way about you."

"What should I do?" John asked her. "I can't just up and leave the island. Not on Christmas Eve?"

"Then I suggest you hold out and go on Boxing Day. The others will understand. I'll even have Parker drive you to wherever you need to go. You owe this to yourself." Penelope assured him with a smile.

John hugged her again. "Thank you. I honestly needed to hear that. Please don't tell the others. They'll only tease."

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "Hey, if Gordon even thinks about it, he'll know about it."

She left John with a newfound sense of confidence. All he had to do was tell Tessa that she would see him again. He even found the words this time. He opened up his computer screen and sent her a message.

 _"Tessa._

 _I can't wait to see you again. I hope you'll be able to keep the 27th free because that's when I'll be heading to Miami again. I can't keep myself away from you any longer. There's something I have to tell you. Something I can't say over text. I hope you'll meet me at the bar where we first met. I'll be waiting there for you._

 _I can't wait to see you_

 _John._

He received a reply, just a few hours later.

 _Dear John._

 _I guess I'm not the only one who has something to tell you. I can't wait to see you again. I'll be there on the 27th. I promise I'll be there. I miss you._

 _See you soon._

 _Tessa_

 _xx_

Christmas Eve slowly transcended into Christmas Day. Christmas Day crawled into Boxing Day. John wiled away the hours while Parker prepared Fab One. Penelope kept her word. He couldn't thank her enough. The morning flew by into lunchtime when Parker announced he was finally ready to depart. John was surprised at how quiet the rest of the family were. They didn't make a single comment on why he was leaving so soon, but when he turned to leave the lounge, he was stopped by Scott.

"John. Go and get your girl." He said with a confident wink. "Good luck bro."

John didn't have the time to question how he knew, he had to get going so he could meet his rendezvous in Miami. Parker whisked him towards the Florida coastline just in time for the evening. He set FAB One down near the bar he was hoping she would be at. Dressed in a dress shirt and jeans, he made his way into the bar. It was busier this time. It added to the challenge of trying to find her. As he approached the sea view balcony, her mere presence froze him in his tracks.

Tessa's radiant glow pulled him over towards her with his heart ready to explode. She had dressed for the occasion in a wine red dinner dress. She looked into his eyes with a widening smile as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you arranged this." She said softly. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Tessa you... you look beautiful," John replied as he gently held her hand. "I've been looking forward to this moment for far too long. I've got something to tell you."

"Hey, it's okay. Why don't we get some drinks first? That should help." She replied quickly. Her nerves were on full display.

John went to the bar to order their drinks. While Tessa secured a table. He utilized this time to gather the words he wanted to say to her. He couldn't let his anxiety get in the way of this moment. Her beauty caught him off guard once again as he returned with their drinks. The pair awkwardly tried to say what they needed to say, but there was no direction. John swigged away at his Whiskey when he finally came out with it.

"Tessa, in the months since we last saw each other, I found that I was harboring new feelings for you. Feelings that I never had for anyone before. All the while I was in space, all that time I was busy trying to analyze rescue call-outs, I couldn't get you out of my mind. When I slept, you were there. When I felt depressed, you were there. When we would talk over the intercom, your voice would linger in my mind. As far as cliches go, it did keep me going. All I ever wanted was to see you again. I didn't know why I had these feelings at first. I didn't understand them. I couldn't work out what they meant, but that was when I realized that I needed those feelings. You see it's those feelings that have kept feeling this human ever since we first met. Tessa I... I..."

Tessa knew what he was going to say. She had to hear him say it though. "It's okay. Say it."

"Tessa. I think I'm... In love with you."

Tessa raised a brow in disbelief "Think? You think you're in love with me?"

John started to panic. He was about to ruin it. "No not think. Never think. Think is the wrong word. I mean I..."

Suddenly, Tessa started to giggle as she placed her finger over his lips. "Shhh, It's okay. I love you too. I mean, you're the first guy who's come along in my life to ever make me feel this way about anyone. I mean you're sweet, you're heroic even if it covered in modesty, but most of all. You're the first guy who's ever felt this way about me. I honestly felt that we were going to dance around this forever simply because of how shy you were. I always wanted you to come back sooner so we could spend time together, but I felt that your work would get in the way. To tell you the truth I thought I was the only one who felt this way, but to hear you tell me that you couldn't stop thinking about me, I couldn't believe it. Whoever gave you this newfound confidence to finally tell me, I must thank them. I love you, John Tracy. I love you."

John slowly rose up from his seat and walked towards her. She took his hand and stood up to face him. Everything he was preparing for was about to happen. John had arrived at a moment he thought he would never experience. Caressing her cheek, he slowly pulled her in for a kiss. A kiss that marked a personal victory. After finishing their drinks, they left the bar and decided to go for a stroll along the beach. Threading her arm through his, they sat down by the sea shore, watching the sunset.

"So Mister Tracy. What shall we do now that you're in town?" She asked him with a cheeky grin.

John rested his head on hers. "Well, I heard that there were some vacancies available. How would you feel if I rented a room and stayed for a few nights?"

Tessa looked up at him with a smile. "Make it a week and you have yourself a deal."

"FAB," John whispered as he held her close to him.

For John, it felt like this achievement could top any new year's resolution. He found love in a way he wasn't expecting. A Christmas wish that finally came true.

End


End file.
